Deleted Scenes of Initiation
by Kalta79
Summary: Stuff I didn't put in the final edit of Initiation, but just in case others want to read it, here it is


( _I think it's better if the story started with his branding._ )

Duncan saw the man take money out of his wallet to buy something from the food stand, and once he get his change, he put the wallet back in the rear pocket of his jeans. It looked like there was enough money in that wallet for him to eat nice for a week. And the wallet wasn't that secure in the pocket either, it was poking out enough for him to grab. Duncan waited til the man was distracted by eating his food, then he calmly walked near him, then grabbed the wallet and started running like hell towards the alleyway that led to his 'house', an entire floor of an abandoned building he had been able to fix to be a pretty good hideout. It was also hard to get into, only he knew how to do it. But Duncan made the mistake of looking back to see if there was any pursuit, and he ran right into a huge gorilla of a man, who promptly grabbed hold of him.

"Good, you caught him." The man whose wallet had been stolen said as he approached them. "Get him in the car…stupid punk, don't you know who we are?" he asked Duncan as he took his wallet back from Duncan's resisting hand.

Duncan tried not to be scared as they forced him into a car. He had almost made it to safety, his escape route was only twenty feet away.

( _I probably should have kept this in, I like the idea of a younger Rude having an afro, and he and Reno each thinking the other's hair is weird._ )

Duncan nervously stepped in. It had been five or six years since he had been in a classroom, and that was before puberty. He saw an empty seat next to a big man with a huge afro. "Did I miss anything?" he whispered to the man as he sat down.

"How to avoid getting in trouble for whispering in class." the man replied.

He and Duncan looked at each other and smiled, both thinking the other had really weird hair.

"I'm Rude, by the way." the bald man introduced himself.

"I'm…Reno." he replied, deciding to bury his past right then. He'd be the man Anna thought he was, rather than the one who got her killed.

Reno and Rude shook hands, as the instructor started talking about how to determine the best ways to infiltrate a building.

( _I preferred the explosion scenario for Reno getting free because I like fire_.)

"Yes!" Fiona's voice was now loaded with the pain and rage she felt at that betrayal. "Daddy wasn't happy when Gavin told him that I ran over that little slut of yours. He said I was too emotional to be a good leader, and I needed to learn my lesson. But once he meets you, he'll understand, won't he?" Fiona caressed his cheek again and kissed him. "And you'll make up what I had to go through to get you back."

Reno said nothing, and he felt her taking his boxer shorts off, probably to relive their first time together. When she got them down around his ankles, not able to take them all the way off because of the rope around his ankles, Reno moved his blindfold so he could kick her against the back doors of the van. Then as the driver slammed on the brakes when Fiona started cursing, Reno got up and tackled her, the back doors opening and they tumbled out onto the road.

( _I didn't feel it was necessary to include this_.)

Reno stood in front of Anna's casket, wishing he had never come. He had broken into the funeral home after hours, so he could have some privacy. Her service was in the morning, but he didn't want to be there then. They had made her look as nice as they could, but there was still some scarring on her face and evidence of her last year as a vegetable. She still had a kind smile though, even in death. Reno had been there for hours, pacing back and forth or sitting in a chair or standing by her casket. Finally he worked up the nerve to touch her cold body, proving to himself that she was gone.

"I don't know where you are now, or even if you remember me, but I wish we had never met, then you'd still be alive. I'm…I'm sorry Anna." Reno said brokenly before bolting from the room.

Back in bed at his place, the only comfort Reno could find is that even though not telling her his real name didn't protect her, at least he could hope that as long as he kept using the name he used with her, she'd never really die.

( _I wanted to keep Reno/Aerith a platonic friendship._ )

He ended up in Wutai, finding a nice bar to spend his vacation at. Reno had just ordered his first beer when a woman approached him.

"Do you like flowers?" he asked her.

"Of course I do. Lilies are my favorite." she replied. "Do you like them?"

"Sorry, I'm allergic. Have a nice day." Reno told her, turning his attention back to his beer. She left in a huff a few moments later, for which Reno was grateful. He really didn't want women around him right now.

 _Reno walked into the church, surprised to see Aerith just sitting in a pew, not tending her flowers. He sat down next to her, and before he could say anything, she turned and buried her face in his chest._

" _Zack's dead!" Aerith wailed._

" _Yeah. He didn't go easy though, he put up a hell of a fight. I talked to the body disposal crew that handled his case, and they're still backlogged." Reno didn't know what else to say to offer her comfort, so he put his arms around her and just held her as she cried. He wasn't used to having a woman cling to him like this when sex wasn't involved, and he tried to let her go when he felt his body start to respond._

 _Aerith felt his reaction too, but she didn't let go of him. "Please don't leave now."_

" _I think it's best for both of us if I do." Reno told her as he tried to gently remove her arms from him._

" _Friends don't just give each other gifts, they also give each other comfort when they need it." Aerith put her hand gently on his cheek. "Comfort me." she said before kissing him._

 _They ended up naked on the picnic blanket she kept there for when she would work through lunch. Reno never had a sexual experience like this before. As he kissed and caressed her body, a gentle warmth suffused them both, intensifying when he entered her. He had paused with surprise upon finding out she was untouched, but Aerith moved herself and then he was inside her. Reno frequently had sex that had been more wildly intense, but this was just like Aerith said, it was comfort. Even their mutual climax was muted, the edge of it replaced with a deep reassurance. Reno didn't even know he had needed comfort as much as she had. He was happy with his life, wasn't he?_

" _Thank you." Aerith said, tracing his tattoos with her finger. "I told you that having friends wasn't so bad, didn't I?"_

 _Reno didn't say anything, he was just glad she wasn't Anna. She had the might of the Shin-Ra empire dedicated to protecting her, Aerith would be just fine. Soon they got dressed and he walked her home._

" _Thanks again." Aerith said as she stopped in front of her door, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow, friend." She smiled before going inside._

" _Friend." Reno repeated, touching his cheek where she had kissed him._

( _I wanted to keep it about Reno finally saving a woman he knew, and Elena offering him sex for it just totally cheapened that._ )

"Not only was Don Corneo a fat slob of a pervert who dared go after a Turk, but his brothels were a bad joke. He got what was coming to him." Reno offered as way of an answer.

Elena put her hand on his arm when he went to leave. "I never answered your earlier question. Come inside and I'll do it now."


End file.
